
-
nut trim thing commanded
I
them, saying, Obey my voice, and
I will be your God, and ye shall be
my people: and walk ye in all the
ways that I have commanded you,
that it may be well unto you."
Jer.
7:23.
The Jews in the days of Jeremiah
were not irreligious; rather, they
were exceedingly religious. But "re-
ligion" is not synonymous with
Christianity or a living Christian ex-
perience. Most pagans are religious;
there is hardly any people—primi-
tive or highly cultured—who are not
religious. Man is a religious creature.
The Jews in Jeremiah's time were
diligent in practicing the forms of
religion. As a result of the reforma-
tion under Josiah, they gloried in the
temple (Jer. 7:4); they had the word
of God or the law (Jer. 8:8). But
possession of Solomon's beautiful
temple, or a church building, and
the Bible do not necessarily make
their possessors pleasing in the sight
of God. There is a difference be-
tween being a servant of God and
being religious or acting religious,
between personal piety and conven-
tional religious conduct. A true com-
mitment to God must touch the self,
must move a man in and from the
depths of his soul, and must unite his
most intimate being with his public
acts. If this is not the case, it may
be called religion, but it is not true
Christianity.
The Jews knew that God was to be
worshiped, but their religion con-
sisted in the mere offering of sacri-
fices and the observance of rituals,
rather than rectitude in personal liv-
ing. True religion embraces love in
dealing with one's neighbor and
righteousness in all the acts of life.
This type of religion is the most diffi-
cult for man to practice.
True religion makes innumerable
demands and inevitably excludes
much of what man holds most dear.
For this basic reason the people un-
der the leadership of the priests
rebelled against the stern religion
of Josiah's reformation. It took from
them the self-indulgence which
popular religion so freely granted
them, while it demanded obedience
to the moral law, abstinence from
sins of the flesh, and the practice of
social justice. Such a conception of
worship was altogether too narrow,
too restrictive, too prohibitory for
the Jews in Jeremiah's day.
The same conditions exist today.
Men seldom find fault with religion
so long as it confers benefits, lends
social respectability, and demands
only outward forms of worship. But
when it begins to infringe upon per-
sonal habits, demands austere mo-
rality, affects one's way of doing
business, and intrudes into one's
whole way of life, enthusiasm for it
often wanes. This was the condition
among God's people in the days of
Jeremiah.
"Religion is not to be confined to
external forms and ceremonies. The
religion that comes from God is the
only religion that will lead to God.
In order to serve Him aright, we
must be born of the divine Spirit.
This will purify the heart and re-
new the mind, giving us a new ca-
pacity for knowing and loving God.
It will give us a willing obedience
to all His requirements. This is true
worship. It is the fruit of the working
of the Holy Spirit."—The
Desire of
Ages,
p. 189.
LESSON OUTLINE
1.
Zion Like a Woman,
Jer. 6:2.
2.
Law of God With Judah,
Jer. 8:8.
3.
Security in the Temple,
Jer. 7:4.
4.
Practiced Circumcision,
Jer. 9:26.
5.
Offerings,
Jer. 6:20.
6.
Believed All Was Well,
Jer. 8:11.